Deep unpopularity has made Franczyk “paranoid and delusional”

The longtime Fillmore district councilman who has grown deeply unpopular among his constituents is cracking under pressure, says a longtime city employee who works at city hall. David Franczyk is “visibly paranoid and delusional” the source says.

Earlier this week, Franczyk was seen pressuring city employees to sign his nominating petitions at city hall during work hours — a clear violation of laws that prohibit campaigning in government buildings. At least one of those city employees who was being pressured to sign the election petition felt that he could not say no, for fear of political retribution.

When housing commissioner Joe Mascia was asked if he would file a complaint over the violation, Mascia said that he may.

Two weeks ago, Franczyk was seen following a volunteer who was collecting signatures for David Howard, another candidate in the Fillmore district. He followed the volunteer in his car, circled the block, then pulled over to harass the canvasser. The canvasser was questioned angrily about who he was collecting signatures for, then berated for doing so. Franczyk then said “he’s going down” and drove off abruptly, angry and tires squealing.

“Our democracy is supposed to be fair, and anyone is supposed to be able to run,” says Mascia. “His behavior is unbecoming. Our voters, our city, our democracy all deserve much better than this.”

Franczyk barely won his last election by fewer than 200 votes, and against a deeply flawed challenger, Sam Herbert, who is widely known for making inappropriate sexual comments towards women and other behavioral issues.